North Korea Celebrates Founder's Birthday as Nuke Inspectors Expelled

North Korea celebrated the birthday of late founding father Kim Il Sung on Wednesday while the isolated regime prepared to restart its nuclear reactor by expelling U.N. inspectors.

There was no official North Korean response to the international criticism Wednesday, which was celebrated nationwide as the "Day of the Sun" — a holiday honoring Kim Il Sung's birth 97 years ago.

Kim Il Sung ruled North Korea for more than four decades until his death from heart failure in 1994. Known as the "Great Leader," he remains the country's "eternal president" even while his son now leads.